The Rare Wine Market Outlook 2020

              

Where Have We Been, Where Are We Headed?

Although 2019 registered a decline of 6.6% in wine auction sales from 2018, a careful observer will likely discern that it was another big year for the category, with global sales at live auctions totaling $437.8 million.  This total is the third-largest in the history of wine auctions.  It followed an exceptional year in 2018, where the aggregate of all live wine auction sales by international houses was $468.9 million, exceeding the previous market peak in 2011 when live sales totaled $442.5 million.  Sales in the aggregate were thus more than $30 million less, but to complete the picture, one needs to factor in the 2018 auction in Geneva from the estate of Henri Jayer, which totaled over $34 million.  This single-owner sale was more than the difference between 2018 and 2019 globally.  Correcting for this one anomalous sale shows a small increase over 2018 in most categories.

Initially, it appeared to many that the market would begin to cool in 2019 – how could it not?  But the strength of the buyer’s demand remained nearly unchecked.  Sales appeared to slow at the end of the second quarter going into the summer, but after a reasonably short build in Q3 the pace in the final quarter was as steady as ever.  High prices and excellent results brought more property out of cellars as long-time collectors took some profits from the market, and conservative buyers had few opportunities in November and December as prices continued to bump against record highs.  These results were particularly surprising against the backdrop of the civil unrest in Hong Kong.  While the streets were empty, buyers migrated online and sales continued.

During this highly-charged year, there were significant shifts in the dynamics between the major players in the industry.  Sotheby’s remained the number one wine auction house by volume by a much larger margin than last year, with $116.5 million in sales, up +16% from $97.9 million in 2018.  Zachy’s was in second place at $101.2 million in sales, an impressive 29.9% increase from their third-place finish in 2018.  Acker, however, suffered a loss of more than 20%, slipping from second to third place with sales of $79.8 million.  The rest of the field also sold less than they did in 2018.  HDH gave up only 5.6% to move up in the rankings from fifth place to fourth, although Baghera dropped from second place in 2018 to a distant last place in 2019, due to the effect of their 2018 Jayer sale.  In 2019 they organized a lovely sale of wines from René Engel, but despite the attraction to specialist collectors, there was nothing like the interest generated by the Jayer sale.

The absence of the numbers from the Jayer sale impacted the regional balance as well.  Sales in the U.S. continued to grow and were up 4.9% to $222.7 million.  New York sales totaled $152.7 million, with the rest split between Chicago and California.  Despite the unrest in Asia, Hong Kong also continued to grow, up 2.7% to $147 million, despite the lack of a Christie’s wine sale in Shanghai.  Balancing these increases was a decline in European sales by 67.4%.  Although totals grew slightly in the U.K. with the inclusion of the $12.3 million in whisky sales in Scotland, results elsewhere were down.  Geneva was down in sales more than 500% due to the Jayer sale that occurred in 2018.  The Hospices de Beaune sale in Burgundy also dropped 14.1% to $14 million.  This is normal variation, however, and due to lower volumes available for sale: there were 589 barrels this year compared to 828 last year.  However, the average price per barrel increased more than 32% than in 2018 on the heels of a robust reception for the 2019 Burgundy vintage.

Prices for Burgundy wine have been high.  One factor fueling the increases has been scarcity. Wine production is tiny – just 1.4 million hectoliters in total across the entire region, 4.1% of the French output by volume.  Of this already small figure, premier crus account for 10.2% of total production, and grands crus, just 1.4%.  Despite the low production, Burgundy has an outsized impact.  At €1.7 billion last year, sales of Burgundy account for about 20% of all French wine exports overall.  In the auction market, the dominance of Burgundy is even more pronounced, with most auction houses reporting more than 40% of their sales or more are Burgundy wine.  Sotheby’s announced that for 2019, 50% of their turnover in the wine category came from Burgundy wine, and 22% of the total was from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti alone.  Pessimists have expected Burgundy prices to drop for some time.  As of Q1 of 2020, the movement of our leading indicators have been mixed but indicate that this is broadly true.  Romanée-Conti 1990 was up 4.5% for the year to more than $24,500/btl, but Q1 saw a decline of 27.8% to $23,500.   Prices are not low across the board, however: 1993 Leroy Musigny continued to show startling gains: +19.3% to more than $15,500/btl last year, and two bottles sold in Q1 for $20,570 each.  Younger vintages such as 2010 La Romanée from Liger-Belair also continued to rise, albeit at a slower pace (+0.9% in Q1 after being +1.3% in 2019, ending at just above $5,700/btl), while white Burgundy appeared to suffer, with 1996 Corton Charlemagne from Coche-Dury -19.3% to slightly over $5,000/btl, after rising to more than $5,800/btl in 2019.

Bordeaux has also been dropping across the board in the first quarter: ’90 Cheval Blanc declined by 2.0% compared to the same period last year. The powerhouse ’89 Haut-Brion was also down 2% and 1982 Lafite dropping by nearly one-third in reasonably active trading to average just over $2,500/btl, and 2000 Pétrus was down over 10% to average $3,900/btl.  Leading indicators for other wines showed either modest growth or mixed results.  Champagne continued to show moderate growth, while the Rhône and California showed mixed results, with big-ticket items such as ’97 Screaming Eagle and ’90 Conterno Monfortino declining (-11.2% and -17.5% respectively).  In comparison, less expensive Masseto and ’94 Dominus rose moderately (+7.7% and +6.8% respectively).

The overall market for wine in the U.S. has continued to expand through the end of February.  Sales were up +3% compared to the previous 12 months, according to analytics firm bw166.  Premium wines (in this context meaning priced to the consumer between $10 – $20/btl) during this period increased by 5.3%.  At the same time, sales direct to consumers increased by 15% in value in calendar 2018, according to the Silicon Valley Bank.  Imported wine has kept market share despite tariffs, rising 6% through February 2020.  Nevertheless, there are obstacles to continued expansion: wine drinkers are aging, and the Millennial generation is not picking up demand as many had hoped.  Instead, it seems that they are consuming spirits and hard seltzer, a category that has seen spectacular growth.  It is also difficult to assess the extent of changes due to the COVID-19 confinement.  Recent data suggests that on-trade sales have declined by 80% while sales to the off trade have increased by 30%.

Burgundy and Champagne enjoyed record years in 2019 with exports increasing by value (and by volume for Burgundy wine).  For Bordeaux wines, results are somewhat more mixed.  They have enjoyed a run of strong vintages, and the 2018 vintage was among the best.  The 2018 primeurs campaign (which took place between April and July of 2019) saw strong sales for top-rated wines among the well-known producers, but lesser-known names struggled.  Merchants also had difficulty selling through their purchases given uncertainties in the U.K. over Brexit and problems in Hong Kong due to rioting.  Compounding matters for the Bordelais is the rather unfortunately unfashionable nature of their wines at present, which depressed prices in both the primary market and the auction market.  Producers have responded by limiting the size of their initial release to buoy prices.

In the final analysis, it appears that despite several adverse conditions, the market for collectible wine still turned in a very creditable performance in 2019.  Although there was nothing comparable to the Jayer sale to push the numbers over the top, the market continued to show resilience.

Moving forward into the first quarter of 2020, however, we see the market for collectible wine transformed from where it was just three months ago.  Early January is normally an exciting time in the auction world.  Fifteen years ago, there were no sales during this time and little demand from Asia.  With Hong Kong opening itself to wine sales in 2008, sales in advance of Chinese New Year celebrations became common and lucrative.  This year, Acker managed a 944-lot sale that earned $7.3 million on January 11th, but this was the last live sale that took place in Asia this year.  Neither Zachys, Christie’s, nor Sotheby’s staged a Q1 sale in this high-revenue venue.  By the end of Chinese New Year in China, the COVID-19 virus had erupted, disrupting life for everyone there, although sales continued apace in the U.S. and Europe.  February sales in the U.S. included a $9.7 million auction by Acker in New York, and a $5.9 million auction by Hart Davis Hart in Chicago, all with high sell-through rates.  The trend continued into March, with Zachys executing a sale of over $9.9 million during the first weekend in March (99% sold), among other auctions, including a $3.3 million auction at Bonham’s California that was 99.7% sold.  Each of these showed reliable results, due in part to the fact that here in the United States, 25% tariffs on wine remain in place.  Although the sales that have occurred have been unexpectedly strong, they have been less frequent, particularly in Asia, and the overall volume through the market has been about half of what it has been in the first quarter of the last two years.

Acker held a sale in Hong Kong on March 27th that could prove a template for the next six months.  They are organizing an auction in real-time, with bids taken online, over the phone, or as absentee bids.  They assure me that the absentee bidding is up to the pace of previous sales.  Since absentee and internet bids usually account for as much as 85% of the volume in a typical wine sale, this is encouraging.  The fact that many parts of Asia are now starting to come out of lockdown helps encourage optimism.  Conversations with merchants and auctioneers suggest that demand there is strong.  Jamie Pollack, head of department at Zachys, notes that in the March 7th sale, Asian bidders won 39% of all lots in the March La Paulee sale.  They have scheduled an auction as well in the same real-time online format as Acker.  We expect that this format will be the dominant method of auctioning wine for the next six months.  Despite the unprecedented trading conditions, it seems that demand is still there and that the fine wine market continues to function, albeit at a lower level.  Through the end of the 1st quarter, sales at live auctions totaled $49 million, as compared to $119.7 million in the first quarter of 2019 (by comparison, the Q1 total in record-setting 2018 was $92.5 million).  It appears that the market has been adapting to new conditions.  Participation in live online sales in the first week of April seems to indicate that wine continues to sell, although the hammer prices are hovering around the reserves.  Given the lead time required to put a sale together, however, this is logical, as the estimates for these sales were done 30 – 60 days ago.

One imagines that moving forward into the second quarter that estimates will tend to follow hammer prices on a downward trajectory, and those buyers able to take advantage of a softening market will likely find bargain-priced wine.  Savvy buying means buying on the way down, but knowing what to pay, and collectors that can repeatedly recalibrate during these times will come out of them with a handsome collection that in time should appreciate sharply.

One Night aux Crayères

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I firmly believe in reflecting on a great tasting before making a final call, so today I am posting my notes from my tasting on Friday night.  One fact, however, was obvious from very early in the dinner: the ’59 Cristal was the wine of the night.  I had three wines with top ratings: the ’59 Cristal, the ’90 Cristal, and the ’75 Bollinger out of jeroboam.  The ’59 Cristal was yards ahead of everything else, and then I think the ’90 Cristal edges ahead of the Bollinger in absolute terms since it probably has a longer future ahead of it, but the ’75 Bollinger astonished us all with its quality and youthful character.

Next I had these three wines, in this order:

Brut Blanc de Blancs Millésime 1995, Selosse

Brut Vintage Vieilles Vignes Françaises 1998, Bollinger

Brut Rosé NV, Krug

In the next category down, I also had three wines, with results that surprised me: ’59 Salon out of magnum, and the 1979 and 1983 Cuvée des Princes from de Venoge.  The Salon was a disappointing magnum (as explained below), and the de Venoge both showed well, although between these two the 1983 was definitely the better wine (another surprise).

In the next tier was the ’75 de Venoge and the ’71 Lanson.  The ’64 Dom Ruinart and the Moët Imperial out of magnum got only one star for general interest but they were pretty well past it, and the ’61 Comtes received no stars as it was clearly faulty.  Read on for full notes in the order consumed:

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Wine Auction Results H1 2019 – A Buyer’s Market, finally?

Photo: Sotheby’s

Executive Summary

After a record-setting year in 2018, the market for collectible wine continued to be very strong through Q1 and the first part of Q2, although there are signs that it is now beginning to slow.

Volume trends

Slowing in some places, accelerating in others, the first half of 2019 was an interesting period in the market for fine wine.  It was perhaps inevitable that the pace of the wine auction market would begin to slow after the blistering pace of 2018.  This slowing of the market is seen in several ways.  The first of these is the fact that the aggregate total of all sales was 7.4% smaller in the first half of 2019, in spite of the fact that there was nearly the same number of lots offered.  This year there were 42 international sales, with 43,561 lots offered that produced $255.6 million, while in the first half of 2019 there were 47 sales with comprised of 43,306 lots that produced $236.8 million.  The difference here, however, is relatively easily explained, as last year Baghera conducted the 215 lot sale in Geneva of the wines from the estate of Henri Jayer that netted $34.6 million.  Although Baghera conducted another single-owner sale this year with the wines of Domaine René Engel, it netted only $1.8 million.  As charming as the older Engel wines are, it is no surprise that their sale would not equal the results of the Jayer sale.

Key players

Other houses also worked at a slower pace in 2019.  Acker had one less sale and a drop in value of more than 23%.  Christie’s had the same number of sales globally but lost almost -20% by value.  These performances were offset, however, by HDH (same number of sales, +10% by value), by Sotheby’s (one less sale but +14.6% by value), still largely benefiting from their Q1 “Tran-scend-ent” sale in Hong Kong, and most notably by Zachys, who more than doubled their sales compared to the same period last year by putting on three additional sales.  This leaves Sotheby’s hanging on to first place with $64.5 million in sales, Zachys nipping at their heels with $62.7 million and Acker coming in third with $42.7 million in sales.

Geographical differences

It is interesting to compare performance by sales site.  In the period from 2008 to 2011 there was a very significant difference between results in Hong Kong, London and New York, and the market may again hand collectors opportunity for arbitrage.  Although it may at this point be deceptive (as we will discuss later), Hong Kong year-to-date has shown incremental growth, going from $89.5 million H1 2018 to 92.7 million in the same period this year (+3.5%).  The UK was down nearly 20%, moving from $25.3 million to $20.3 million, and as expected Geneva was down -86.9% in the absence of the Jayer sale.  These results were mitigated by some extent by fairly robust growth in the US, up 16.3% from $101.8 million to $118.4 million, with sales in New York providing the bulk of that impetus.

Is the Burgundy bubble bursting?

In category terms the market has been obsessed by Burgundy these several years, and collectors are still preoccupied with the topic.  The short answer is “not yet”.  Collectors are still very excited by Burgundy, although it does appear that the very top end is softening.  One instructive example is 1990 Romanée Conti.  Overall it is down 1.4% from last quarter, but it is still up 13% from the end of 2018.  However, digging deeper reveals there were three six packs all in Sotheby’s May NY sale that all made $26,867 per bottle but that this was followed by a single bottle at Christie’s NY that sold for $20,000, and then another single bottle that sold at Acker in Hong Kong for $17,916 – in other words, a stable market that started falling steeply at the end of the second quarter.  1999 La Tâche also showed a fair amount of volatility during May with full six packs selling for as much as $41,925 at Christie’s Hong Kong sale and for as little as $34,580 at Zachys in New York, a difference of more than $1,000 per bottle.  Sometimes that volatility can certainly be due to provenance.  In Sotheby’s high-grossing “Tran-scend-ent”  sale at the end of March, they sold a three pack of Leroy Musigny for $55,986 and a single bottle of the same for $17,596, while none of the four bottles sold in 2018 made more than $13,000.  These results put this wine at +31.7% for the year, the best performance in the category.  More typical was Coche Corton-Charlemagne which finished the quarter at an average of $5,961/btl, which is -0.9% from Q1 but still +14.6% from year end 2018, and 1990 Rousseau Chambertin, which ended at $5,412/btl, down slightly from last quarter’s $5,671, but still up from the $5,111/btl close of 2018.  However, less-desirable property lagged behind.  One Zachys vendor in Hong Kong had a sold rate that barely exceeded 78% due largely to the large quantities of négociant Burgundy in the consignment.  While late-season sales in London (Sotheby’s), New York (Zachys), Chicago (HDH) and Los Angeles (Heritage) all showed strong sell-through rates, there is still some evidence for a slowdown.

Bordeaux prices stagnate

The slow, steady growth in Bordeaux prices seems to have reversed itself in the second quarter, with nearly all of our leading and coincident indicators moving into negative territory.  ’82 Lafite gave up the most ground, moving from an average of $3,742 last quarter to $3,386 in the second quarter.  Here, too, prices fell towards the end of the period, but the rate of change is distorted by the anomalous results of over $6,000/btl produced by Zachys in their March sale in New York.  Factoring out these prices would leave the average at about where it was at the end of 2018: $3,135/btl.  Most Bordeaux prices, even for sought-after wines such as ’89 Haut-Brion, appear to be slightly lower than the peak in the first quarter of the year but still somewhat higher than they were in 2018.

Where are prices heading?

Prices in other categories such as champagne and Rhône are also following this general trend.  Some, like ’90 Monfortino are strong (+17% over last year), while others are losing ground (’07 Masseto, -17.2% over the same period), but these are the exception rather than the rule.  Anecdotally, to judge from recent results in sales where we were bidding on behalf of clients, the majority of interesting wines are still selling within the estimate range, but they appear to be selling at the lower end of the range instead of at mid-estimate or between the mid-estimate and the high estimate.  Moving from the third to the fourth quarter we advise a fairly conservative strategy in order to avoid overpaying.

There are two important external factors that in our opinion will greatly influence wine prices for the balance of 2019.  The first of these is the economic and political unrest in Asia, principally the trade war between China and the U.S. and the demonstrations currently roiling Hong Kong society.  Hong Kong and China are two important sources of demand for the fine wine market and as we saw with Xi’s “anticorruption” initiative in 2012 – 2013, a slackening of demand from Asia can create strong downward pressure on prices.

The other main factor will be the uncertainty regarding Brexit and the British market.  At present these forces have been driving demand in the U.K. as traders stock up to hedge against any eventual increases in price that would come from a hard Brexit.  This may soon reverse, however, if the pound continues its slide, and it may become more attractive than it has been in some time to buy in the U.K.  At present merchant offers have still shown fairly aggressive prices, but this is an area to watch in the coming months in order to maximize the arbitrage between sales sites.

Q1 Auction Results 2019

Defying all expectations, the market for collectible wine continues to surpass expectations with its vibrancy and depth.  As regular observers of the category will recall, 2018 was a record year for collectible wine, and during the first quarter the totals have surpassed those for the same period of 2018, with $124.7 million in sales at live auctions in the first three months of the year, across 20 sales spanning the UK, the US, and Hong Kong, although this total includes the multi-vendor sale that Sotheby’s organized on the 1st of April, since this formed part of their spring season of sales at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.  

The first quarter was dominated by Sotheby’s, with their exceptional “Trans-cend-ent” collection that went up for sale in Hong Kong.  The sale included over 16,000 bottles from an anonymous Asian collection, including 250 lots of wine from the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, and an astonishing total of more than 600 lots of wine from Coche-Dury, a quantity that is reputed to be greater than the stocks that exist at the winery.  The highest-grossing lots were three twelve-bottle lots of 1990 Romanée-Conti, which sold for $347,520 each, or just a bit more than $28,000 per bottle.  A generous price, but it is worth noting that this is, however, below the record price set by Sotheby’s in 2017.  Overall, however, the sale surpassed all expectations, with the wines of Mouton-Rothschild and Krug both coming in at double the pre-sale estimate.  In aggregate, the sale reached almost $30 million US against a pre-sale estimate of $19 million. 

This was far from the only notable sale in the quarter.  The Zachys La Paulée sale featured over 2000 lots that hammered collectively for $13.6 million, which followed their January season opener in Hong Kong that raised $12.4 million from 1199 lots.  Zachys wrapped up their first quarter with a $7.9 million sale direct from the cellars of Lafite-Rothschild.  Overall, Sotheby’s led the market with $52.6 million in sales during the quarter, followed by Zachys, with $33.8 million, and Acker came in third place with $22 million spread across four sales.  Geographically, the Sotheby’s series weights the balance heavily in favor of Hong Kong, with $66.3 million in sales in the first quarter, as compared to $48.9 million in the U.S., and $7.2 million sold into the London market.

Live auctions in London were relatively quiet in this period, with four sales in the course of the first quarter.  The first of these was a single-owner sale at Sotheby’s called “A Superlative Swiss Cellar” on January 23rd.  At nearly 1,000 lots, it was a fairly large sale that was 87.3% sold by lot.  The top lot was an original wooden case of six bottles of Leroy Richebourg that made just over £29,000 against an estimate of £16,000 – £20,000, in spite of three bottles having signs of seepage, a record price at the time.  The second and third largest grossing lots were magnums and bottles of 2000 Mouton Rothschild.  These, however, hammered within the estimate and were sharply eclipsed in the March Christie’s sale.

The second sale of the quarter was held on February 21st at Bonhams, where 576 lots brought just over £568,000 (71.7% sold).  The top lot was nine bottles of 1982 Pétrus, which sold for £25,000 or £29,875 with premium, just at the low estimate.  Three bottles of the ’61 Pétrus also sold at the low estimate for £17,925 all in.

The third and fourth sales were both done on the 20th of March.  Sotheby’s sale of 966 lots produced £2.3 million (89.6% sold), while the Christie’s sale of 334 lots produced £1.3 million (99.4% sold).  The top lot at the Sotheby’s sale was a jeroboam of 1989 DRC Montrachet that made just over £31,000 with premium, above the high estimate.  The entire list of top ten lots was of an interesting composition: all were all from the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, and all bar one were Montrachet.  All bar two sold to Asian clients.  The sale included an anonymous collection called “A Remarkable Cellar”, and a selection from the Cartier Collection, sold to benefit Cartier Philanthropy.  The Christie’s sale also included a charitable element, as a selection of Burgundies donated by the estates themselves were sold to benefit the Maison Jacques Copeau, a theatrical institute in Burgundy.  The top lot of the sale was a dozen 1988 Romanée-Conti which sold for £232,740 with premium, just below the low estimate.   Christie’s London has produced the top three prices achieved at auction for this wine, but this latest result is considerably below the bar they set in their October 2018 sale. 

The strength of the market has tended to bring wine from private cellars.  Much of this is fueling the auction market, although merchants and brokers can also be strong competitors.  Some will buy stock outright, while others will offer the wines on consignment “subject to confirmation”.  Many of these are priced at or near the market price as established by the auction market, although some seem more speculative.  We saw in the first quarter a 12 bottle case of 1990 Gentaz Côte Rôtie for £38,000; a 12 bottle case of 2005 Rousseau Chambertin priced at £58,000; and 6 bottle cases of Haut Côtes de Nuits Blanc “vinifié par DRC” for £5,000. 

In order to analyze category dynamics, we have developed a system of looking at a list of leading indicators selected from each category that will give us a more concrete idea of which way the market is moving.  We use global averages across all sales sites to get a more solid idea than anecdotal examples of outlying exceptional results would give us.  As one might expect in the current market, Burgundy continues to lead the market.  1990 Romanée-Conti picked up 16.6% to average $27,368 in the first quarter (global averages given in US$), while 1990 Rousseau Chambertin picked up 11% to average $5,671 in the same period, up from $5,111 for the full year 2018.  Among white wines, 1996 Coche-Dury Corton Charlemagne picked up 18.1% to average $6,013 in the first quarter, and 2005 DRC Montrachet gained 7.5% to average $8,878.  The truly spectacular result, however, was 1993 Leroy Musigny which sold for an average of $18,396 in the first quarter (up from $12,559 in 2018), largely on the strength of Sotheby’s “Trans-cend-ent” sale.  However, not every Burgundy rose in price – 1999 DRC La Tâche lost 5.4% to average $6,229 in the period.

Bordeaux also continued to appreciate.  Most notably, 1982 Lafite picked up 19.4% to average $3,742 during the period, and 1989 Haut-Brion continued its hot streak to end up just shy of $2,000 per bottle in the first quarter, although 2000 Pétrus grew only 1% for an average of $4,492. 

Results elsewhere were mixed: Guigal’s La Mouline and Jaboulet’s La Chapelle lost 1.3% and 1.1% respectively, while 1990Rayas grew 8.1% to average $1,824/btl.  In the New World, Screaming Eagle 1997 lost nearly 10% of its value to end at $4,302, but 2001 Grange grew 16.4% to end at $461/btl, and ’07 Masseto lost 12.5% of its value, wile 1990 Monfortino from Giacomo Conterno picked up a healthy 28.4% to end at $2,104/btl in the first quarter.

Executive summary: a good time to sell Burgundy, to buy Bordeaux, and to choose your other wines carefully.

2018 Fine Wine Auction Market Analysis

Executive Summary

2018 was an unprecedented year in wine auction sales, and market conditions continue to show remarkable vigor.  Sales at live auctions in 2018 totaled more than $468.9 million, exceeding the previous peak of the market in 2011, when live sales totaled $442.5 million.  This was largely driven by extremely strong demand for Burgundy wines and by resurgent demand from Asia.  A strong roster of sales already in the first half of 2019 and anecdotal conversations with auction house personnel also suggest that this trend will continue at a minimum through the first half of 2019.  Although volume was dominated by U.S. sales, many of the lots sold here actually went to bidders based in Asia, and the role of Asian collectors in the worldwide fine wine trade is indisputable.

Spiraling Sales Totals

The wine department at Sotheby’s produced the highest-grossing sales total at $97.9 million, a 53.4% increase over last year.  Sotheby’s sales were also well-distributed, with frequent smaller sales in London and three sales in New York, but the totals were essentially driven by their two successful series of three sales in Hong Kong in March and September of this year that netted US $ 29.1 million and US $14.5 million respectively, a large share of which was produced by “The Philanthropist’s Cellar” sold by an anonymous Asian collector to benefit charity.  This was followed by the first half of the sale of wines from the estate of Jerry Perenchio, billionaire former CEO of Univision, which made $ 6.7m, and a multi-vendor sale that garnered another $6.1m.  The New York sequel to the sale of the Perenchio estate was the largest US sale for Sotheby’s.  Sotheby’s forte has always been the exceptional single-owner sale, however, and in October they have pulled off another coup, selling 100 lots of extremely rare DRC directly from the personal cellar of Robert Drouhin.  Prices generally were extraordinary—as one would expect for wine of this rarity with this provenance.  Even with this consideration, results exceeded market expectations.  As an example, two bottles of Romanée-Conti sold for $496,000 and $558,000 respectively.  Sotheby’s wine retail has also made news recently, as the Hong Kong office has sold a collection of seven methuselahs (6 liter bottles) for more than US$ 1.5m.  Single owner sales late in the season included the 7th Earl of Durham, Burgundy from Jim Clark’s cellar, and the wines of an unnamed European Connoisseur.  Selling in London, Hong Kong and New York, their twenty-three they offered twenty-three sales, by far the largest number of any auction house.

Sotheby’s sales were nearly matched by their wine-only competitor, Acker, Merrall & Condit, whose sales brought in a total of $96.8 million, an increase of 31.8% over last year.  Eschewing a London saleroom and lacking the draw of their competitors art departments, Acker focuses on monthly sales that alternate between Hong Kong and New York.  In 2018 they offered sixteen sales.  Their single-owner consignments are often anonymous, such as “The Lifetime Collection”, “Billion-Dollar Baby”, and the “Everest Collection”.  The named sale from noted collector Wilf Jaeger was an exception to this.  Also important components of the Acker, Merrall sales are the direct consignments from a number of illustrious Burgundy producers, including Chateau de la Tour, Clos de la Chapelle, Domaine Duroché, Drouhin, Faiveley, Fourrier, Haegelen-Jayer, Hudelot-Noellat, Lamarche, Comte Liger-Belair, Hubert Lignier, Meo-Camuzet, Bernard Moreau and Domaine Roulot.  In today’s super-heated Burgundy market their dominance in this type of sale is an important competitive advantage, although the sale direct from Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé at Christie’s Hong Kong was perhaps the “ex-domaine” highlight of the spring season.

As extraordinary as these series of sales by the top two houses were, however, they were almost eclipsed sense by totals from Baghera Auctions in Geneva.  This newcomer, headed up by former Christie’s staff, chalked up sales of $46.2 million in only two sales, one in June and one in December.  The June sale featured the last of the wine from the personal cellar of legendary Burgundy winemaker Henri Jayer.  Here a mere 215 lots earned in excess of US$ 34 million.  This consignment came directly from the daughters of Henri Jayer and was comprised of the special bottles he had set aside for his wife Marcelle, who passed away in 2013.  The top lot in the sale was a vertical in magnum of 15 vintages of his iconic Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux that sold for US$ 1.2 million; six magnums of the ’99 Cros Parantoux sold for US$ 530,000, and a single bottle of 1986 Richebourg sold for more than US$ 50,193.  In total the sale produced more than four times the presale estimate.  The early December auction by Baghera was a very large collection of wines from the Domaine de la Romanée Conti in December also outperformed expectations, and demonstrates the ability of Baghera to disrupt the settled order of the market.  This sale and others in the final month of the year lifted the wine auction market to new heights.

Like Acker, Merrall, the Scarsdale, NY-based Zachys sells wine only, and limits its sales to the U.S. and to Asia.  In 2018, they sold a total of nearly $71 million to garner third place in the volume stakes.  Zachys relies on fewer but larger sales.  Their two-day event in December, for example, was headlined by the impressive Klaus Umek sale.  Many of the top Zachys sales, however, such as “The Vault” were anonymous in 2018, although this house has produced its share of notable single-owner sales in the past.

The other main international auction house is Christie’s, who have scaled back their presence in the wine auction world in recent years, as they ceased sales in Amsterdam and Paris, and scaled them back in Geneva, London, New York, and Hong Kong.  In spite of this retrenchment, they sold $65.2 million worth of wine in 2018, an advance of 13.1% over last year.  In addition to the de Vogüé sale mentioned earlier, they organized several landmark sales of Madeira and older German wines, as well as a sale of the highly collectible Chinese distilled spirit Maotai, held in Shanghai.

Following Christie’s very closely in sales totals was the wine-only, Chicago-based auctioneer Hart Davis Hart, with a total of $63.5 million, achieved solely with sales in Chicago.  They often present significant named collections such as the Fox Cellar and the Harris collection, and are known for their exceptionally high sell-through rate.  Like Zachys, they rely on a smaller number of very large sales, organizing seven throughout 2018.

Not to be outdone, London-based Bonham’s increased sales 46.7% over 2017, albeit from a smaller base of $12.2 million.  They have a strong niche position in the auctioning of rare spirits, and their sales of the Peter Blake edition of 1926 Macallan ($1.01 million) and the Valerio Adami-designed bottle of the same spirit ($1.04 million) raised eyebrows, although both fell short of the extraordinary result of the unique Michael Dillon-designed bottle sold at Christie’s in November which made more than $1.5 million.  The only auction house that did not reap big volume gains in 2018 was Dallas-based collectibles auctioneer Heritage, whose $10.2 million total was an advance of just 1.4% over 2017.

U.S. Sales Remain Strong

In 2018, the U.S. maintained its position as the leading market for wine auctions, with $211.9 million sold through year end.  The bulk of this total ($132.1 million) was sold in New York, with the Chicago total of $63.5 million from HDH in second place, and California-based sales a distant third with $16.3 million.

However, it is important to recognize that the wine trade is increasingly global in nature, and although there are more sales happening out of U.S. sales rooms, many of the buyers in these sales are based in Asia.  Sotheby’s Wine 2018 Market Report tells us that 63% of their wine buyers are based in Asia, as compared to only 24% in the US, 11% in Europe and 2% in South America.

Asia’s important position can also be seen in the establishment of Hong Kong as the second fine wine powerhouse, with sales of $139.5 million.  The big surprise this year was the emergence of Europe as a strong competitive force.  This is certainly the case if one can include the UK in this calculation.  The two markets combined totaled $113.9 million, with nearly half of that attributable to sales in Geneva.  However, London sales were also strong, at $44.5 million, advancing by almost 1/3 over last year’s total of $22.5 million.  In addition to the international houses, Zachys and Acker both now have full time staff based in France, and the combined totals the Baghera sales, the larger-than-normal volumes in Christie’s Hospices de Beaune and the robust sales of spirits in the UK (such as the Christie’s London sale of a single bottle of 1926 Macallan for US$ 1,528,800), will likely continue to push sales in the Eurozone to new heights.

Burgundy Continues to Dominate

The somewhat conservative fine wine market has anticipated a leveling off of Burgundy prices given recent increases, but this was patently not the case in 2018, and initial results in 2019 confirm this observation.  Recent communication from auction house personnel confirm that Burgundy has now an approximately 40% share of trade in the secondary market, even though the amount of wine produced in Bordeaux is nearly four times as much: Burgundy produces 1.41 million hectoliters of wine on average, while Bordeaux in an average year will produce 5.25 million hl.  Sotheby’s reported in their year-end press release that Burgundy has a 42% share this year and an average bottle price of $1,700 at auction.  Even more astonishing, they report that sales of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti accounted for $24 million, equivalent to 21% of their combined retail and auction trade in total.  They continue to point out that this is more than Pétrus, Lafite, and Latour combined.

Bordeaux has nonetheless continued to benefit from the rising tide, and many iconic bottles are now selling above the 2011 high water mark.  Private communications suggest that these two categories together continue to make up 90% of the secondary trade in fine wine, and the only thing to have changed is the seismic shift between Bordeaux and Burgundy.  All the rest of the world (and the rest of France) makes up one-tenth of the market at best.  Individual returns can be strong, however, even if the volume through the market is small, and champagne continues to offer significant returns, while many Italian wines and wines of the Rhône valley are essentially flat.  Certain U.S. producers can be counted on to appreciate, but the overall market for California wine is fairly soft, as are the markets for sweet wines such as Port and Sauternes.  Madeira has seen a revival of interest, but the numbers are still fairly small.

Our proprietary “Leading Indicators” serve to illustrate these trends.  The most obvious is the strong demand for Burgundy.  Prices for 1990 Romanée Conti had appeared to soften in the first half of the year, but averaged $25,800 per bottle during the fall easong, with a high price of over $33,000/btl at Sotheby’s Hong Kong.  1999 DRC La Tâche rose to an average of more than $7,200 for the year, netting more than $10,000/btl at the Baghera sale in December.  1993 Leroy Musigny was also firmly into five-digit territory, with an average price of more than $12,500/btl for the year and 1990 Rousseau Chambertin climbing more than 23% for the year to finish with an average price of more than $5,100/btl.

The strongest performance from a Bordeaux château among the Leading Indicators was the 1990 Cheval Blanc, +16.6% for the year to sell at an average price of more than $1,000/btl, and some results, such as the $1,447 at Christie’s London being above historic high prices for this wine.  For some wines, such as the 1989 Haut-Brion, the the average price for 2018 was highest annual average price recorded, while for many others including 2000 Pétrus and 1986 Mouton that situation is fast approaching.

In other categories, perhaps the strongest performance is in collectible spirits.  Tim Triptree, International Director of Christie’s Wine Department, estimates the total size of the secondary market in spirits at $50 million in 2018 and is bullish on continued growth.  According to Triptree, “Growth in the market for rare whisky is the best performing sector of the auction industry…”  Other segments did not fare as well: Rhône prices seemed to stagnate during the year, with the exception of the very strong ’90 Rayas ($1,547, +12.6%), although it had been even higher at mid-year.  A similar trajectory was seen for Italian icons such as ’07 Masseto which finished up 12.4% at an average $744/btl, although it gave up a bit of ground from the first half of the year when it averaged $813/btl.

The Retail Market

Demand for the 2016 Burgundy vintage reached a fever pitch early this spring as a combination of low yields and high quality squeezed already tight allocations and convinced many merchants to raise prices.  While some domaines held the line on price increases, there were few bargains to be had for the end consumer, but the average quality level on view at the Grands Jours de Bourgogne was particularly encouraging, both for reds and for whites. Luckily for all concerned, 2017 and 2018 are closer to “normal” yields, thereby reducing one reason for inflationary pressure on prices.  In spite of this, however, the annual sale of Burgundy at the Hospices de Beaune achieved a record result in 2018, with 828 barrels (a record yield) producing $16.9 million, a record aggregate total, demonstrating that Burgundy prices are going only up in the foreseeable future, in spite of the last two generous harvests.  In spite of increased volumes in the 2017 vintage, prices for the first offers of 2019 appear to advance on those for the 2016s to the disappointment of many collectors.  This has apparently not, however, had the effect of lowering demand for these wines.

The 2017 Bordeaux primeur campaign, on the other hand, was difficult.  This vintage in Bordeaux was severely reduced by frost, with many properties losing half their crop, and the weather during the growing season was variable, with heavy rain at the end of June followed by a hot, dry August and then rain in early September.  This played havoc with the grow cycle of the vine, but fortunately the weather cleared at the end of the season, and pessimism was not universal.  The commercial side of the campaign, was perhaps less adroitly handled, and in spite of generally modest quality, prices were not uniformly lower, leading to widespread disillusionment on the part of the merchants and consequently little enthusiasm on the part of the consumer.  The Bordelais seem quite excited about the quality of their 2018 crop, and this may result (if history is any guide) in a new surge in prices from this region.

In the broader wine market, sales of premium wines continue to grow at a modest pace, and initial returns suggest a gain of +1.2% over last year, to a total of 408 million cases of all wine, domestic and imported, continuing a 24 year trend.  However, volume trends tell only part of the story, as the wholesale value of wine moved forward by +3.7% for the year to end at $70 billion.  Somewhat ominously, the seven largest wine companies sold 70% of all the wine in the country in 2018, and sales for these companies declined 0.7% for the year in aggregate.  However, as last year, the Direct-to-Consumer channel grew to $3 billion, +12% for the year, led by Sonoma County and Oregon and Washington states.  This channel now represents 10% of all off-trade sales and expected to continue to grow.

Domaine Fourrier @ Vin de Garde

Jean-Marie Fourrier is a happy example of that rare type of person who has followed his own vision and conquered the world.  In his case, the world that he conquered is the rarified one of top-notch Burgundy wine, and today he is indisputably one of the hottest producers in Burgundy, and a “must-taste” for any aspiring connoisseur.  This was not always the case, since as recently as 1997 it was not included in the otherwise meritorious survey Côte d’Or by Clive Coates.  The domaine was founded in 1930 by Fernand Pernot, remembered by Anthony Hanson in his 1982 book Burgundy as “an amiable old bear”, noting “Today wine is now made by the next generation,” by which he meant Jean-Claude Fourrier, nephew to Père Pernot, who had taken over in 1969.  Jean-Claude had begun to work at the domaine in 1961 at the tender age of 14, after a winery accident claimed the life of his father.

As will happen with time, Jean-Claude eventually ceded control to the next generation, his son Jean-Marie, who took over from his father in 1994 at the age of 23.  At the time of Anthony Hanson’s book, the domaine bottled only 50% of its production under its own label, and much of the Gevrey was blended together to make a limited range of cuvées.  When Jean-Marie took over, he began to change some things slowly while leaving others as they were.  One tradition worth maintaining was the respect for the vineyards that had always been there.  Some of them had been mature even when the domaine was founded in the depths of the Great Depression—parts of the holding in Griotte-Chambertin was planted in 1902, and part of the Clos Saint-Jacques was planted in 1910, and these have never been replanted.  When a vine needs replacement, cuttings are taken from the old vines (a process known as sélection massale) so the vineyards remain true to the original flavors and not to those found in the productive, disease-resistant clones available in nurseries today.  The average age across the nine hectares (ha) owned by Fourrier is 50 – 70 years, and no fruit is used in the domaine bottlings unless comes from vines of a minimum age of 30 years.

Jean-Marie famously returned to the domaine after apprenticeships with Henri Jayer (during the production of his legendary 1988 vintage) and Domaine Drouhin in Oregon, but rather than following blindly the precepts of his mentors, he has chosen the techniques that work best for himself.  He bottles by hand, as Henri Jayer did, but he uses only 20% new oak casks for aging the wine, a far cry from the 100% favored by M. Jayer.  There is a legend, in fact, that when Robert Parker advised him to increase the percentage of new oak casks in the mid-‘90s that he was politely shown to the door.  According to Jean-Marie, most of the work is done in the vineyard.  He has completely ceased the use of fertilizers and chemical weed-killers, and treats the vines with an absolute minimum of intervention for rot and mildew in order to limit the influence of chemicals on the fruit.  He does not make a fetish of low yields, but selectively removes buds at the beginning of the season instead of “green harvesting” to increase concentration.

In fact, he guards at every turn against excessive concentration, while his careful work gives the wines an exceptional purity of fruit and depth of flavor.  The grapes are carefully sorted, first in the vineyard by the pickers, and then on vibrating tables in the winery.  The stems are gently removed, but little of the harvest is crushed.  Instead, the berries are delivered to the fermentation tanks and the ferment is allowed to begin naturally by indigenous yeasts.  Forcing a deeper hue through a “cold soak” or prolonged maceration the fruit and the skin is avoided.  The wines are manipulated during the process as little as possible.  The fermented skins are punched down under the juice during the fermentation, but the wine is not pumped over the top.  No sulfur is added until the end of the winemaking, and the purity of the wine is protected instead by reductive handling.  The wines are aged with their fine lees without racking, and are bottled, unfined and unfiltered, with a bit of CO2 to help maintain freshness.  For this reason, Jean-Marie recommends decanting the young vintages.

The domaine works approximately 9 ha, and Jasper Morris outlines the holdings as follows in his book Inside Burgundy:

Griotte-Chambertin                                                     0.26 ha

Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St. Jacques                       0.89 ha

Gevrey-Chambertin Combe aux Moines                 0.87 ha

Gevrey-Chambertin Champeaux                              0.21 ha

Gevrey-Chambertin Cherbaudes                              0.67 ha

Gevrey-Chambertin Goulots                                      0.34 ha

Chambolle-Musigny Les Gruenchers                       0.29 ha

Morey-Saint-Denis Clos Sorbés                                 0.55 ha

Vougeot Petits Vougeot                                               0.34 ha

Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Echézeaux                        0.47 ha

Chambolle-Musigny village                                       0.39 ha

Gevrey-Chambertin village                                        3.30 ha

Jasper does not mention separately the holdings in Morey-Saint-Denis Clos Solon, described on their importer’s website as “more than a half-hectare”.  The site goes on to detail the rare Bourgogne Blanc and a small amount of Bourgogne Rouge made by blending their 0.38 ha holdings just outside of Gevrey-Chambertin with some fruit purchased from others.  In addition there is a small holding in Chambolle-Musigny Les Sentiers (bottled only in magnum and not every year), and they also describe the source of the Gevrey Chambertin Vieilles Vignes as the Champerrier vineyard, near the border with Brochon.

In addition to all of the above, there are the wines that Jean-Marie has begun recently to produce from fruit that he sources from like-minded growers.  This has allowed him to expand his range to include Vosne-Romanée Aux Réas, Chambolle-Musigny Aux Echanges, Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses, Clos de Vougeot, Echézeaux, Charmes-Chambertin, Mazoyères-Chambertin, Latricières-Chambertin, Chambertin, and Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze.  For the production of these wines, Jean-Marie is buying the grapes (and sometimes having them picked by his own staff) and is not buying juice or finished wine.  During our exquisite tasting we were able to taste a range that included both wines from domaine-owned vineyards and purchased fruit throughout a selection of enticing vintages.

2010 Fourrier Bourgogne Blanc

Although Domaine Fourrier has produced a white wine from a mosaic of vineyards in Chambolle-Musigny since 1997, Jean-Marie confided this evening that he made his first “proper white” in 2007.  Part of this has to do with his view on premature oxidation and the steps that he takes to prevent it.  He has adopted an oxidative handling of the fermenting juice to ensure that this happens in a controlled way before bottling, and not afterwards—he adds no sulfur until the end of the malolactic fermentation.  The result is sturdy and rich, and although it is marked by its maturation in cask, it is opening up now with plenty of breadth and an exquisite finish.  ***

2015 Fourrier Clos de Vougeot

Domaine Fourrier sources the fruit for its superb Clos de Vougeot from the section of the vineyard known as Petit Monpertuis, next to the section called Musigni that appropriately abuts Musigny grand cru.  In spite of its youth, the 2015 showed particularly well, with a piercingly lovely cherry fruit on the attack that opens with time to show a dense mass of smoky complexity.  The wine is rich and full bodied, with plenty of grip and the density to age for the long haul.  *****

2014 Fourrier Clos de Vougeot

The 2014 Clos de Vougeot was an intriguing wine, if perhaps showing a bit less overt sex appeal than the 2015.  The wine had notes of mineral, earth and fresh saddle leather, but less of the exuberant cherry fruit.  The tannins were more pronounced and the texture a bit more massive.  While it has a considerable future ahead of it, there is less flash and sparkle here.  ****

2013 Fourrier Clos de Vougeot

True to the vintage, the 2013 Clos de Vougeot showed a lighter, more perfumed fruit character with an edge of violets on the nose.  On the palate the wine had pleasant freshness and vibrancy but less generosity than either the 2014 or 2015.  This is a wine that will mature earlier than either the 2014 or 2015, and will provide much pleasure as one waits for these other two wines to mature.  ***

2015 Fourrier Echézeaux Vieilles Vignes

The 2015 Echézeaux Vieilles Vignes is a blockbuster of a wine, with a super-ripe cassis fruit and floral aromas on the nose colored with hints of smoke and a depth of fruit that almost suggests dark chocolate.  On the palate the wine is velvety soft and approachable but still full-bodied and structured.  Superb.  *****

2014 Fourrier Echézeaux Vieilles Vignes

Robust, savory, and surprisingly forward, the 2014 Echézeaux shares a similar floral element on the nose.  Slightly more reticent than the 2015, this is a brooding wine that requires some time to unlock the depths of fruit, although rich plum and cocoa notes emerge on the palate to enliven the lingering finish.  This is a wine that will last for decades.  ****

2013 Fourrier Echézeaux Vieilles Vignes

A departure from the two later vintages, the 2013 Echézeaux is almost crisp.  Classic in structure there is a lighter color and a pronounced floral note on the nose.  The texture is lively and bright, but this is a wine for much earlier drinking than the two later vinges.  ***

2015 Fourrier Chambertin Clos de Bèze

Intense and concentrated, the 2015 Clos de Bèze struck me with its spicy and expressive character.  The black cherry fruit was more accessible here than elsewhere.  It left and almost weightless impression on the palate, yet the wine was still extremely long on the palate, with new flavors that opened up only with time in the glass.  *****

2014 Fourrier Chambertin Clos de Bèze

Floral notes dominate here and there is an intriguing note of licorice on the nose.  The texture is fresh, clean and silky, but as with the 2015 it is deceptively light, since the persistent aromas and flavors again surprise with their complexity and depth.  ****

2013 Fourrier Chambertin Clos de Bèze

The 2013 Clos de Bèze is cut from the same cloth as the 2014, with aromas of spice and fresh violets on the initial attack.  The texture as with many wines from 2013 is fresh and somewhat lighter, but the wine has a superb balance and an approachable nature that indicate drinking over the next 5 – 7 years.  ***

2015 Fourrier Chambertin

Absolutely lovely.  The ’15 Chambertin is surprisingly expressive and very forward, with a bright cherry fruit on the attack followed quickly by a suggestion of roses and a hint of mineral.  The wine is exuberantly delicious now, but there is substance here as well, and it should age for decades to come.  A monumental wine from a fabulous vintage.  *****

2014 Fourrier Chambertin

Savory  and saline, the 2014 Chambertin puts the emphasis on spice rather than on cherry fruit, but with time a rich, plummy character, somewhat darker in hue than the ’15, begins to emerge.  The wine is solid and substantial with plenty of structure and a dense, meaty texture.  As with the ’15, this is a wine that will age for the long term.  Marvelous, complex, and impressively long on the finish.  ****

2013 Fourrier Chambertin

Ripe and expressive, with a bright cherry character to the fruit and the floral notes so characteristic of this vintage.  However, while some 2013s come off as lighter and not as substantial, here the tension is put to good use to drive the lovely fruit character to a very long, fresh finish.  One of the best 2013s I have had, this should open relatively young but can last at least a decade in my view.  ****

2010 Fourrier Morey-St.-Denis Clos Sorbés Vieilles Vignes

From his old vine parcel of slightly more than a half hectare in the Morey-St.-Denis premier cru Clos Sorbés, Jean-Marie produced this marvelous 2010.  The vintage was characterized by yields reduced by poor weather at flowering and by moderate temperatures and cool nights through ripening, giving wines of great freshness and focus.  Here the cherry fruit is bright and structured, with expressive notes of black cherry colored with earthy notes, and a firm, tannic structure that carries the wine well.  ***

2010 Fourrier Vougeot Les Petits Vougeot

Domaine Fourrier is the proprietor of a third of a hectare in the fairly rare premier cru Les Petits Vougeot that lies just downslope from Musigny and just north of the Clos de Vougeot.  The 2010 vintage here produced  a lovely red fruit-scented wine with a silky texture and a bit more generosity than the Clos Sorbés.  Although it is showing well, it can age easily another ten years.  ***

2009 Fourrier Chambolle-Musigny Les Gruenchers

Located in the midst of Chambolle’s premiers crus, Les Gruenchers is located downslope and across the street from Les Fuées and directly east from the small vineyard of Derrière la Grange, where Fourrier has just over a quarter hectare.  The 2009 is particularly impressive.  While it has the typical Chambolle elegance, there is no lack of fruit here and a spicy, silky quality on the palate that is alluring and is not likely to fade quickly with time.  ****

2009 Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Les Champeaux

The premier cru Champeaux is located at the northern end of the village of Gevrey, on the border with Les Evocelles which lies in Brochon and bordered by Combe aux Moines, Petits Cazetiers and Les Goulots.  This makes the terroir fairly cool, and even in 2009, it gave a wine that was deceivingly light at first.  However, with time in the glass over dinner this opened up into a magnificent, almost animal nose, with savory black fruit character and a strong floral cast.  There is at a minimum another decade here – your patience will be

2009 Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Combe aux Moines

Across the street from Champeaux and bordering on Cazetiers, the Combe aux Moines is another cool terroir that here has given a wine with a bright, high-toned cherry fruit.  In comparison with Les Champeaux it is not as forward and a bit more structured, yet it remains accessible and shows an extraordinary balance throughout the lingering, slightly saline finish.  Lovely.  ****

2007 Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St. Jacques

The premier cru vineyard Clos Saint-Jacques has a long and illustrious history, and many Burgundy experts suggest that the terroir should have been classified as Grand Cru.  While historical classifications of the region do not necessarily support this view, it is certain that in the marketplace the wines command a premium.  Well into the 20th century the vineyard was under the sole proprietorship of the Comte de Moucheron, who had consolidated the holdings of his wife to achieve this status in 1949.  Upon his death, however, the widow sold the vineyard and the property was split among four domaines: Fourrier, Armand Rousseau, Esmonin and Clair-Dau.  Each owner has a portion that runs from the top of the slope to the bottom, giving them a complete representation of the terroir.  Fourrier owns 0.89 ha, Rousseau 2.2 ha and Sylvie Esmonin 1.6 ha.  The 2 ha portion belonging to Domaine Clair-Dau was divided in half at the dissolution of that estate in 1985 and is now shared between Louis Jadot and Domaine Bruno Clair.  The vineyard is located behind the village and between the premiers crus Lavaux Saint-Jacques and Les Cazetiers.  It is on the other side of the valley, however, from the main swath of grands crus in Gevrey and has a very different exposition.  Regardless of these differences, the vineyard produces exceptional wines in nearly every vintage, and the portion belonging to Fourrier is special indeed, with portions having been planted as long ago as 1910.  2007 is often noted as a lighter vintage, but this particular example is intensely concentrated, with notes of black licorice, truffle, plum, and a saline edge.  On the palate the wine is beginning to soften and open, revealing its depth and complexity.  This is drinking at its peak but it will certainly last another decade at this stage.  ****

1999 Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St. Jacques

Oddly, the 1999 Clos Saint-Jacques seemed perhaps more youthful than the 2007.  1999 was another famously sunny year, and here it gave superb ripeness to the wine, with blackberry and plum fruit underlined with notes of earth, smoke and leather.  The developed aromas of forest floor and truffle are barely showing here, just a super-intense concentration of flavor and body that is still firm and substantial.  Just shy of twenty years of age this is only now coming into its own, and it will drink easily for at least another twenty.  Superb.  *****

2010 Fourrier Griotte-Chambertin

Fourrier owns just over a quarter hectare of Grand Cru Griotte-Chambertin.  This smallest of the grands crus in Gevrey Chambertin is on the “wrong” side of the Route des Grands Crus, across from the Clos de Bèze and between Chapelle Chambertin and Charmes Chambertin.  Although sometimes discounted, it produces a famously “charming” wine, elegant and harmonious.  The 2010 from Fourrier was a wonderful example of this, with a perfect balance between intensity of fruit and silkiness on the palate.  The cool nature of the year gives it enough backbone to achieve a perfect balance.  *****

2002 Fourrier Griotte-Chambertin

The 2002 Griotte-Chambertin is now open ready to drink, yet the wine has enough red and black berry fruit character and smoky, leathery nuance to go the distance.  This is a lovely expressive wine with some of the nerve of the 2010s and some of the silky, lush fruit of the 2009s.  A vintage that is too often overlooked, this is in a perfect place now but will last at least another decade.  *****

2005 Fourrier Griotte-Chambertin

Fairly primary with its ripe black cherry fruit character and scents of violets and roses, this is a compellingly seductive wine with a perfect equilibrium between that ripe, primary fruit, impressive depth of flavor and rich, dense texture on the palate.  It is only now beginning to open up, and should enjoy a life of at least another twenty years.  *****

1985 Fourrier Griotte-Chambertin

As is the case with many of the ‘85s, Fourrier’s ’85 Griotte-Chambertin is an almost impossibly beautiful wine.  It is fully open and showing all its treasure, yet it is still fresh and seemingly youthful more than thirty years later.  The texture is lush and velvety and on the finish the developed aromas of black truffle, ground coffee, and forest floor are just now beginning to dawn.  Although this is probably drinking at its peak now, it should hold here for at least another decade.  Truly monumental wine.  *****

Champagne Krug

Even a house as august as Krug occasionally feels the need to reinvent itself.  We were surprised upon arriving at Krug to find that the entrance had been completely reconfigured along with the completion of the new reception areas for guests and some ongoing work in the cellars.  Even Krug, it seems, is not content to rest on its laurels.

Among the newer pieces of the Krug story is the rediscovery of Joseph Krug’s original notebook of his discussion with Hypollyte de Vivès, who was his backer as he broke off from his father-in-law at Jacquesson.  Krug and de Vivès met in 1840; Joseph set up his own company in 1843.  One can only imagine that it was a tumultuous time in his life.  As we discussed Krug history old and new, we clarified that in 1972 Private Cuvée was changed to Grande Cuvée, that in 1971 the Clos de Mesnil was purchased with funds from the sale of Krug to Remy Cointreau, and that the vineyard was replanted and that the first vintage was 1979.  There was little information to be gleaned about Krug Blanc de Blancs, shipped before the first Clos du Mesnil, or Krug Extra Sec.  These, apparently, will remain a mystery.

Next we switched from former marketing stories to the current ones, and began to discuss the Krug ID  This innovation, introduced with bottles disgorged in 2011, continues to fascinate, as the code on the back of the bottle allows Krug lovers to discover not only technical information such as the components of the blend, the date of disgorgement and other vital statistics, but also food and even pairings to accompany the wine.  Luckily, this is more than gimmicky marketing: the wines are absolutely superb, and perhaps they have never been better in the houses’s long history.

Brut NV « Grande Cuvée » (163)

We began the visit with a glass of what is known as the 163rd edition of Krug Grande Cuvée.  Our Krug ID (315051) tells us that this has a base from the year 2007, and that it is a blend of 37% Pinot, 32% Chardonnay and 31% Meunier, disgorged in the second quarter of 2015.  The assemblage consists of 183 different blending components in total.  On the nose there are the trademark coconut & saffron aromas, and the texture is silky and fine without sacrificing power or length.  ****

Brut NV « Grande Cuvée » (160)

We concluded our visit with the 160th edition of « Grande Cuvée ».  The Krug ID (214031) reveals that the blend is based on the 2004 vintage, that it is a blend of 44% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay and 23% Meunier, and that there are 121 components in all, with 1990 as the oldest vintage in the blend.  The wine was disgorged in 2012.  The wine to me was silkier and more floral than the vintage wine from the same year – more approachable, really – which is logical with the use of older reserve wines.  ****

Brut Vintage 2004

From the initial glass of Grande Cuvée we moved into the vintage wines, tasting first the 2004.  This was lovely, citrusy and fresh with a very tender texture.  It seemed, however, slightly closed, and at this stage it was almost too easy to love, and lacked perhaps a bit of tension.  The nose revealed floral and toasty notes, but was not yet showing the depth of flavor I look for in Krug Vintage.  Still, I think with time it will come around.  The Krug ID (214041) paradoxically reveals that « Elle a reçu son bouchon au printemps 2014 » and that it « A quitté nos caves printemps 2014 ».  This means that it was disgorged and shipped in the same season, which would be highly unusual for a house like Krug.  I will investigate!  The blend was 37% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay, and 24% Meunier.  *****

Brut Vintage 2002

From the ’04 we went on to the superb 2002.  This showed a bit more maturity on the nose immediately, with the tropical fruit and coconut that I love in Krug vintage along with a suggestion of ground coffee and just a hint of black truffle.  On the palate there is concentration and density but the character of the mousse is very silky and the length seems to go on forever.  Stunning wine.  I wonder what it will taste like out of magnum?  Blend: 40% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay, 21% Meunier.  *****

We discussed the vintage wines a bit.  Like 1988, the 2002 is first of a trilogy: 2002 – 2003 – 2004.  This is highly unusual in the history of the house.  We did not have an opportunity to taste the ’03 on this visit, but on my previous visit to the house it did not yet seem ready.  Champagnes from hot years (think of 1982) can prove thrilling, but in my experience one needs to wait for them in order to enjoy them fully.  Here the ’03 was shipped before the ’02 (which was release in the fall of 2015), just as the ’89 was shipped before the ’88.  I have been a bit disappointed with both the ’89 and the ’03, and I think we’ll have to wait for them.  I also think the ’04 is not yet showing at its full potential, but it is a wine full of promise.  The ’02, perhaps a bit like the 1990, has always been there, and, one hopes, will continue to show well.  We were told that there will not be any vintage wine produced in 2009 or 2012.

Champagne Alfred Gratien

Founded in 1864, Gratien is a traditional Champagne négociant in the best sense of the term.  They have employed members of the same family as their chefs de cave for four generations.  The first was Gaston Jaeger, who began in 1905, and the present winemaker, Nicolas Jaeger, began working with his father in 1990 and took over the reins seventeen years later.  The house purchases the quasi-totality of the fruit that they use, but they source fruit only within an easy drive of their premises, located in Epernay.  All of the base wines are fermented in cask.  There are over 1,000 used oak casks on the premises – the third largest collection after Krug and Bollinger.  Wines are kept on the lees until the spring following the harvest, but no lees stirring (bâtonnage) is done, as Nicolas feels it can make the wines heavy.  Only the first run juice (the cuvée) is used, and the press wine (the tailles) are vinified in a separate process for a different brand entirely that is only commercialized in Germany (home to parent company Henkell).  Malolactic fermentation is systematically suppressed.  Reserve wines are kept in a solera (properly called a réserve perpetuelle in Champagne) instead of keeping the vintages separately, and 50% is renewed each year.  All of the vintage wines are aged under cork.  The dosage is moderate, and it is performed using a liqueur formed from the Cuvée Paradis, held in solera (with 10% renewed each year).

Brut Classic NV

This has a base of 2011 (thus bottled in ’12 and hence five years on the lees) along with 40% reserve wines.  The blend is 57% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir, and 23% Meunier.  The wine was disgorged June 17 and dosed at 10 g/l.  As with all wines, it is only cuvée and 100% fermented in cask.  The end result has a richly toasty nose of ripe apple, almond and brioche.  The mousse is elegant and creamy, and the malic acid gives a lively balance in spite of the generous dosage.  Very well done.  ***

Brut Vintage Blanc de blancs 2009

This comes completely from grand cru sites, including Le Mesnil, Chouilly, Avize, Cramant, and Oger  The wine is dosed at 8 g/l.  The nose opens with a lively, lemony fruit buttressed with a faint note of honey.  The texture is rich and lush, with a luxuriously soft finish relatively typical of the vintage.  Well done.  ***

Brut Vintage « Cuvée Paradis » 2008

A blend of 65% Chardonnay and 35% Pinot Noir from grand and premier crus, dosed at 8 g/l.  2008 is a wonderful vintage in general, and this Cuvée Paradis by Gratien is an exceptional success even within that context.  The combination of the cask ferment, long aging under cork, lively acidity (from the blocked malolactic fermentation) and the delicate, creamy texture from the exclusive use of the cuvée brings to this wine both an incredible density and concentration but at the same time a delicate, creamy texture and a finesse that are uniquely rewarding.  ****

Brut Vintage 2005

A blend of 70% Chardonnay with 15% Pinot Noir and 15% Meunier.  Recently disgorged, this has thus spent 11 years on the lees.  The autolysis here is at a marvelous point, with notes of truffle, grilled brioche and roast walnuts.  There is a complexity here that is truly profound, and the texture has softened up a bit from the intensity of the ’08 Paradis to make this a silky, truly seductive beverage.  Marvelous.  ****

Brut Millésime 2004

An interesting wine, paradoxically fresher than the 2005, this is a blend of 68% Chardonnay and 13% Pinot noir blended with 19% Meunier sourced from a treasured site at Leuvrigny.  The result is still fresh and silky, with a creamy texture and a lovely weight.  The elegance and finesse of the ’04 vintage is truly amazing: this was disgorged in only January 2017.  Truly marvelous wine.  *****

Brut Vintage Rosé « Cuvée Paradis » 2007

A blend of 63% Chardonnay and 37% Pinot Noir, including 8% vinified as red wine by the house R. H. Coutier in Ambonnay.  The end result is an elegant expression of red berry fruit, but the feel on the palate is a bit light.  ***

Champagne André Jacquart

Marie Duval-Doyard is taking an increasingly confident hand with her husband in the administration of their family estate in Champagne.  They are proprietors of 23 ha: 16 in the Marne, split between Le Mesnil and Vertus, 3 ha of Pinot in the Aube, and a further 4 ha of Pinot in the Aisne.  Eighty percent of the production is vinified in cask (none of it new).  The wines spend six to eight months on the lees (with bâtonnage) and are normally bottled in June.  Malo is blocked systematically, dosage is low, and the wines see a minimum of four years on the lees for NV and 5 – 8 years on the lees for vintage wines.  The house has invested heavily in recent years including new cellars and a new cuverie.  Lots of renovation. New cellars.

Brut Blanc de Blancs NV « Brut Expérience »

The wine is 60% from Vertus and 40% from Mesnil, 5 years on the lees.  80% is from the base year of 2012, and 20% is a combination of resesrve wines from 2009 – 2011.  .  60% of the vin clair was fermented in cask.  The finished champagne is dosed at 4 g/l.  The wine has a pronounced citrus and saline edge, with lovely texture and length.  For me this is an absolutely spectacular starting point, incisive and a bit sharp, but infinitely refreshing and enchantingly crisp.  ****

Brut Blanc de Blancs NV « Mesnil Brut Nature »

This has a base of 2008 with the addition of 10% reserve wines.  The base wine here is completely different, and the fruit for this blend is from vines up to 70 years of age.  While very structured, tense and crisp, this is a wine of extraordinary concentration and verve, with a well-spring of citrusy fruit but also a richness and density that are surprising.  Impressive length.  This is among the most concentrated nonvintage wines from the Côte de Blancs.  ****

Brut NV « Pur Chardonnay Mesnil Experience »

Here is a softer, gentler expression of the Mesnil fruit from the Doyard estate, although this uses younger from (from 40 – 45-year-old vines).  The base year here is 2012, and the dosage is 4 g/l.  Here the emphasis is on soft floral notes and a ripe apple fruit, with a bit less of the yeasty concentration of the old-vine cuvée.  Pleasant, much more approachable.  ***

Brut Rosé NV « Rosé Experience »

The wine here is 80% Pinot Noir from Vertus from a plot of 80 year old vines and 20% Chardonnay from Le Mesnil.  Production is limited to 5,000 bottles each year.  The wine is done in the saignée method, but completely in cask.  The wine was bottled in 2015, and the finished champagne is dosed at 4 g/l.  Here there is a lovely red berry fruit aroma and a hint of floral notes.  The texture is soft and supple.  The wine is not overly structured, but rather easily approachable and yet it lingers well on the palate. ***